|
The Last Battle 2001 short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-six
years after Episode IV – A New Hope “Why me?" Tarr Ranth stood before Blake De'Athe, hands crossed in front of him, Jedi robe pulled back on to his shoulders. "Because you have the ship, you know the route and you have contacts on planet. The rest should be obvious." Blake's voice was emotionless, not betraying the sense of foreboding that he felt at giving his friend and cousin the orders. Ranth nodded, mercifully asking few further questions, and left the meditation chamber. Blake took a deep breath and found peace within the Force. Why had they asked him to do this? Ranth exited the main meditation chamber and walked towards training room one. He paused at the door, momentarily sensing the being inside the room. He smiled and walked inwards. Nera De'Athe stood blindfolded in the middle of the room, her lightsabre ignited, surrounded by four droid remotes. A succession of blaster bolts rained down from the remotes, each one timed to provide the most problematic defence. Nera deflected each bolt flawlessly, even managing to fire one back at each remote. The deactivated remotes clanked to the padded decking. Ranth activated his lightsabre and moved in to the centre of the chamber, taking up a defensive posture he coughed. "I felt you arrive. Do you want a rematch?" Ranth nodded solemnly. "Yes, but remove the blindfold. I won’t be going easy on you." Nera removed the blindfold and threw it into the corner. Ranth immediately moved in to attack. Nera parried expertly, bringing her blade around in a counter attack that stretched Ranths abilities. He found himself bent back almost double on himself and had to use the Force to steady his posture. As Nera's blade swept harmlessly through the air where he had been standing he pushed himself upright and catapulted himself over her head. In mid air he swapped his lightsabre to his left hand, rolled and chopped at Nera's legs. She momentarily staggered backwards and Ranth pressed the attack. Nera was puzzled by the ferocity of Ranth's attack, but assumed he was just trying to find her weaknesses. She would show him. She appeared to trip on her own feet, stumbling backwards. As Ranth pressed the attack, she focused on the Force and Ranths blade extinguished it's self. Ranth took this in his stride and leapt backwards out of the range of Nera's incoming blade. At the same time he waited until her arm was fully extended, and threw the lightsabre handle at her. Aided by the Force it struck her hard in the middle of the forearm. She yelped, momentarily weakening her grip on her lightsabre. Ranth pulled it to him, catching his own as it returned to his other hand. Nera stood motionless in the middle of the combat area, a look of confusion on her face. Then she smiled and bowed to Ranth. "An interesting technique. That was a trick I would have been hard pressed to pull off. Not exactly a standard procedure though, is it?" Ranth deactivated and returned Nera's lightsabre to her. "Neither is deactivating your opponents lightsabre in mid combat. Where did you learn that trick?” Nera walked over to him and whispered in his ear. “Me to know, you to find out.” She smiled and exited the chamber leaving Ranth feeling wiser. He shook his head and wondered what else Blake had taught her. Blake De’Athe frowned at the face on the other end of the communications display, noting the apparent discomfort it elicited. “Explain to me again, why are we asking him to do this?” Blake’s voice was emotionless but his face betrayed his thoughts. At the other end of the line, Letitia Arkensaw sighed and sat back in her seat. “The council and I think it’s the best way of making sure we have an accurate read out of the exact amount of ships surrounding Leogard. Because Ranth one of only a handful of people in the sector with a ship capable of slipping in and out unnoticed. You know the amount of lives it will save. And also we have to find a new way in and out of the Leogard dust cloud.” She paused, leaning in towards the camera unit. “If it was anybody other than Ranth I’d have baulked at the suggestion, but he stands a better chance than most of getting the information out.” She leant back. De’Athe leant forward and whispered into the pickup. “Then let me tell you this. If Ranth doesn’t return from this mission I’ll hold you and the Setnin Council personally responsible.” He flipped a switch and the communication was terminated. He sat back in his chair and two hands snaked themselves around his shoulders, hugging him tightly from behind. “I can feel the anger inside you sweetheart. You’re not going to turn on me are you?” Blake frowned inwardly at the reference to turning, his own experience with twice succumbing to the dark side ever-present in his thoughts. He smiled up at his wife, turning in his chair to face her. “No, but I meant what I said. The Jedi are defenders of the Galactic Alliance and in this instance the Setnin Sector. But if my cousin Tarr is killed during this mission I’ll make sure Master Arkensaw and Governor Gabe are removed from their posts.” He stood and turned his back on Nera. “I won’t see a good man wasted.” Tarr Ranth exited from hyperspace on the edge of the Leogard dust cloud. The Dark Star III went in to automatic stealth mode. Unnecessary systems shut down, radionic shielding went up and electromagnetic emissions dropped to match that of the surrounding space. Unless somebody had been looking at this area of space when he had exited hyperspace, he was safe. A quick check of the passive scanners showed no ships in the immediate vicinity. Good. He set the autopilot so that it would slip the ship into the dust clouds leading edge and then plotted a course that would allow his ship to cover the completed outer edge of the dust cloud. He sat back in his seat and relaxed, finding his centre. His mind found the Force and he let it turn outwards, away from his ship. This would take time, and a lot of concentration. “Master Arkensaw, I have just received notice that Jedi Ranth has arrived in the Ki-Ki sector.” The young aide handed the report to Letitia and she examined it closely. Ranth had moved exceptionally fast in getting to Leogard this quickly, but something bothered her, something about the report. Then it hit her. “Vance, why is this report not encrypted?” The young man looked nervous momentarily. “The communications team received the message before the instruction was issued to maintain encryption. We were not expecting Jedi Ranth to arrive in the system so quickly.” Letitia rose to her feet and stabbed the communications panel on her desk. “Get me Blake De’Athe.” “Commander, I’ve picked up something. One of our shielded sensor buoys reported an energy spike in sector five-oh-two. It looks like a ship exiting from hyperspace, but it’s disappeared.” Commander Dagger moved over to the young officer, reading the data over his shoulder, and made a decision. “Dispatch the Gladiator to the area and start a high resolution sweeping scan. It can’t hurt to check it out.” Something about this made him feel uneasy. Ranth slowly exhaled and brought himself out of the meditative trance that he had been using to help him search the cloud. He briefly wondered why nobody else had noticed this route before, but then realisation dawned. Five clicks of the densest edge of the dust cloud bounced scanners back like a mirror bounces light. Without a Jedi’s senses no one would have been able to find the almost direct route to the planet that was hidden by that relatively thin veil of space matter. He brought the engines back up to medium power and pushed the nose of the Dark Star III further into the cloud. He hoped his hull was up to this. The Ki-Ki warship Gladiator swept out of the dust cloud and powered up her engines to full power. Within a few minutes she had travelled half way around the planet. Intense sweeping scans bathed the area of space where the Dark Star III had recently entered the dust cloud. Then she rotated around and moved back towards the corridor that would allow her access to the rest of the fleet. On the edge of the Leogard System, a J series X-Wing fighter exited hyperspace and swept towards the planet. It’s pilot reduced shields to minimum, relying on passive scanners to direct him. If anybody could have seen the look on his face they would have averted their gaze. If eyes could glow, then this mans eyes would be white hot. Dagger exited the communications centre and read the report that had come through from his spies on Benesk. Espionage was a process that he despised greatly but it often had its uses. Now was one such time. “Verdas, alert the fleet. We have a visitor.” The Dark Star III sat motionless just inside the inner edge of the dust cloud. Ranth let the natural motion of the dust cloud push the craft around the planet. Each click she travelled allowed Ranth to passively scan the ships that were sitting in space just in front of him. There were a lot of ships, at least fifty. Ranth wondered why the Ki-Ki invasion force required so many craft to surround such a small planet, but then he remembered his history lessons. This must be a staging ground, it was the only solution. Then something caught his eye. The ships were moving in a series of manoeuvres that suggested that they were searching for something. Ranth sat and watched for a few more minutes, making sure that his sensors recorded all the information he needed. Traffic patterns, ship types and energy signatures were recorded, then Ranth transferred the information to a data disk. Now he would need to prepare. “Sir, we have a small ship emerging from the edge of the dust cloud, it’s making a run for the corridor.” Commander Dagger looked on intently as his ships moved to intercept. “Use ion cannon only, I want the pilot of that ship alive.” The Dark Star III dodged and weaved between the blasts from the Ki-Ki warships. Ranth noticed two ships trying to cut him off. He boosted the engines, pushing them to well beyond their limits. The gap closed just behind him. Blue bolts of fire swept past his cockpit and there was a brief shudder as the shields were hit again. Ranth didn’t need a power readout to tell him that there was very little shield power left. He relaxed into the Force, feeling the intent of the gunners on the ships around him, dodging their fire. There was a bleep on his command console and he smiled as he read the display. He was entering the corridor. He hoped he would have enough of a head start to exit it safely. The X-Wing swept inwards towards the dust cloud that surrounded the planet. It’s modified sensors swept the area of the corridor exit. It’s pilot hoped against hope that he would be in time. Then something registered on his scanners. He focused the beam, noting the response on the scanner screen. This would be tight but he might just make it in time. The Dark Star III exited the cloud, her skin glowing from the friction of the dust on her hull plates. Tarr Ranth breathed a brief sigh of relief and then pushed the engines back up to full power. Before he had moved more than a couple of clicks he realised the error in his judgement. Battered and scarred by being pushed to their limits in the dust cloud, the engines gave out and died. Ranth sat back in his chair, a wave of calm descending upon him. He pressed a couple of buttons on the console and transferred the energy from the power core to the shields. He pushed himself out of the pilot’s chair, rapidly moving back into the lounge area and opening a small panel underneath the main viewer. He took out an ornate lightsabre and dashed back to the cockpit area. He noticed the comm panel flashing and flicked open the channel. “Ranth, this is Blake. Get out of there, they know you’re coming!” Ranth sighed and switched the comm panel over to an open channel. He continued to busy himself with his preparations as he talked to Blake. “De’Athe, my engines are shot and the Ki-Ki are less than five minutes behind me. Do you have a data storage unit onboard.” The answer was swift. “My Astromech can store anything you want, why?” Ranth sighed with relief. “Good. Prepare to receive a transmission.” He waited for Blake’s response and transmitted the data on a secure channel. The computer confirmed delivery. “I’ve got it. My R2 unit has backed it up. Hang on in there, I’m coming to get you out. I’ve picked up five warships on my scanners, less than two minutes away.” Ranth nodded to himself and finished inserting the last package into the hyperspace-tracking unit. Sealing the tube, he launched the pod. It sped away from his ship towards the incoming X-wing. “Don’t do it Blake. If they scan you they’ll know the Galactic Alliance is involved and that will tip the balance in their eyes. Get out of there and make certain the information gets to Master Arkensaw. Don’t make this any harder than it is. I’ve fired a tracer at your ship, let it lock on and return to Benesk.” Blake was silent for a time at the other end of the line. “What about you cousin?” Ranth thought for a moment, remembering what he had been told by his mother just days before. He stretched out to the future through the Force and saw nothing beyond himself. “My time has arrived Blake. Don’t make it your time as well.” Blake sat in his cockpit. He had less than thirty seconds to get out of range. What could he do? “Goodbye old friend. May the Force be with you.” Ranths voice sounded calm at the other end of the line. “May the Force be with you.” Blake turned the X-Wing, momentarily slowing as the tracer locked on to the hull of his ship. Pushing the engines to full burn he sped away from the dust cloud. However, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of dread. At the edge of his scanner range, he slowed the ship and waited. Needing to know what happened, he set the R2 unit the task of plotting a course to Benesk and waited. The five warships exited the cloud and surrounded the coasting Dark Star III. Blue lances of light shot out of the ships, arcing across the shields and destroying them effortlessly. Inside the Dark Star III, Tarr Ranth readied himself in the Force. He was prepared to do what had to be done to protect the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi. They could not find out that the ship belonged to a Jedi. A Jedi spying on the Ki-Ki. A Jedi from the Galactic Alliance who was supposedly impartial in this matter. He waited whilst a tractor beam locked on to his ship and pulled him towards the largest of the pursuing craft. He had to time this just right. The sound of a magnetic lock clamping over the airlock clanged through the ship. Ranth activated a button, under a hidden panel, and a small remote slipped out into his hand. There was one button on the remote. All he needed. Ranth calmed himself. Changas and six troops readied themselves inside the airlock. The inner door cycled open and there was barely a hiss as the two atmospheres equalised. He looked briefly around the corner of the airlock door and saw an old man, crouching in a meditative posture. He looked up as Changas walked through the airlock. “Welcome aboard. My name is Tarr Ranth. Jedi Knight.” He pressed the button on the remote. Within his X-Wing, Blake De’Athe was momentarily blinded as a bright white flash overloaded his cockpit screens. The screens cleared to reveal an expanding ball of incandescent fire that surrounded and destroyed the ship that the Dark Star III had been attached to. It continued rapidly outwards outpacing the surrounding warships and encasing them in blue white fire. The shields of the remaining four warships collapsed upon themselves and they were vaporised in moments. When the ball of energy had subsided, all that remained of the Dark Star III and her pursuers were a few glowing embers. Blake sat there, stunned into silence by what he had seen. He searched the Force for Ranth in the vain hope that he had somehow escaped. Nothing. Reluctantly turning the X-Wing around, he activated the jump lever and left the Leogard System behind him. Letitia Arkensaw, Master Jedi, examined the report that Blake De’Athe had presented to her. She looked up at him, noting his impassive face and remembering the threat he had issued less than two days ago. “There was no trace at all?” Blake shook his head. “Then his sacrifice will not be in vain.” Blake scowled at her and she raised her chin. “You have something to say?” “What are you going to do with the information he gathered?” Letitia paused for a moment and Blake took advantage. “Nothing. You’re just going to sit, cogitate and analyse it aren’t you?” He leant forward on the desk his hands digging into the metal surface. “It was an exercise in public relations wasn’t it? You wanted Governor Gabe to know how far we’re prepared to go didn’t you.” The Jedi Master rose from the desk and walked around to face the window of her office. “In part, yes.” She frowned as she eyed Blake closely. “We are Jedi. We live to serve. Didn’t you know that? Ours is not to reason why, we have a mission and we carry that mission out.” She lowered her eyes and paused. “Ranth wasn’t the first Jedi to die, and he won’t be the last.” She levelled Blake with a solid stare. “He understood that. Why can’t you?” She broke her stare and closed her eyes in thought. Maybe it’s because you’ve
sampled the dark side twice before.
Maybe because the rage is barely contained within you. Blake’s mouth twisted at the lip and a snarl began to form. I heard that… Blake slammed his fist on the desk, no longer trying to control the anger that was welling up inside of him. He turned to face his senior Jedi, unhooked his lightsabre and threw it to the floor. “That’s what I think of your publicity exercise. Find someone else to be your stooge; I’ll have no further part of it. If this is the much vaunted Setnin Way you can keep it!” He stormed out the office. Letitia calmly stretched out her hand and called the lightsabre to her. She placed it on her desk, noting the indentation Blake’s hand had left in its surface. She pressed the comm button to her aide and waited for his reply. “Yes, Master Arkensaw?” “Get me Paladin Base, and tell the maintenance crew to call in on their next run.” So be it, she thought. Blake De’Athe opened the cylinder and examined its contents. An ornate lightsabre, a set of electronic keys and a hand written letter sat in the bottom of the small unit. Blake extracted them all and opened the letter. He read its contents. Blake, if I’m any Judge of character then this lightsabre will come
in useful over the next few weeks. I
hope you accept my death as an extension to my journey in the Force. I never
achieved the level of skill that you and Letitia are so adept at. I was just meant to be a warrior. Perhaps
now I’ll learn something new. The keys open my locker at Paladin Base. Take fifty thousand credits
from my account and give the rest to my siblings, along with the deeds to my
fathers’ estate. They’ll find a use for it. Keep the armour. If you don’t use
it make sure it goes to someone worthy, but not a bounty hunter. Those days are over. Think of me occasionally. One
day I may pay you a visit. The Force
is my ally after all. Please let inform my friends of my death. It’s important that others
know what I died for. I’m trusting you in this regard. Tarrion Randelle, Lord Tarr Ranth of Mandalore. Blake closed the note and sat down. “Don't worry Ranth, I’ll let everyone know how you died.” The Last Battle 2001 short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-six
years after Episode IV – A New Hope Histories – The death of Tarr
Ranth and the uncovering of the hidden Ki-Ki fleet
within the Leogard dustcloud.
Showing the true nature of war – intelligence and espionage, here we
see the Jedi carrying out their usual missions of diplomacy and
spying. Cast of
Characters Tarr Ranth Blake
De’Athe Nera
De’Athe Letitia
Arkensaw Vance Commander
Dagger Verdas Changas |